Everyone has a different approach to writing and it’s important to find what works and feels true for you. I throw on music (with lyrics even) or else I can’t work. Others wouldn’t be able to work in such a noisy, distracting environment. I can’t get my characters to work unless I throw a little emotional chaos into the mix. With that caveat, there are a few general techniques I want to talk about to help other writers turn into authors.
WRITING YOUR FIRST DRAFT: MANUSCRIPT 101
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to your first draft:
write everything. No detail or thought is insignificant, get it all down. Think of this as if you are quarrying stone and the editing process is carving out the statue.
write the bare minimum. You can build it up over additional passes. Think of this as sculpting with clay.
I use the second of these two methods as the first method is simply anxiety-inducing for me. I do extensive world-building (I’ll talk about that more in a different blog post) but when it comes to my manuscripts I care more about getting the skeleton of the beast down first. That way I can take time to reread it and discover what needs to have more built upon it and what can be cut without falling into a sunk cost fallacy.
Keep in mind, especially when you’re working with multiple character perspectives, that you can write the same way movies are filmed: not necessarily in chronological order. It can be exceedingly difficult to break out of the chronological mindset, but it becomes easier if you use tools timeline tools (I personally use Aeon Timeline) so that you can keep track of where different parts of your outline lie while you jump around.
GOALS AND STAYING ‘IN SHAPE’
Give yourself reasonable deadlines or goals. I try to write 1500 words per day to keep myself ‘in shape’, regardless of whether that writing is in a blog post or the novel. It keeps the muscle memory of my keyboard alive. It took me 10 years to write The Dying Sun, adding to it daily and letting it consume a significant portion of my psyche. There were many drafts completely thrown away, but also completed. Goals need to be personal and achievable. Instead of a word count, you might want your goal to be “x hours a day” spent writing (in which case programs like Cold Turkey might help prevent you from being distracted during that time). Whatever works for you and keeps you on target is what matters.
Part of staying in ‘writing shape’ is reading. You can’t be a writer for your medium without participating in that medium. If you write novels, you must read them. If you write scripts, then you need to watch movies/plays/etc. If you write games, you need to play them. Ideally, if you write any of the above you should watch/read/play all of them, as each has a unique take that you can use to write better narratives in general. If you struggle to find time to read because of a busy schedule, try to multitask. Doing chores? Listen to an audiobook. It still counts as reading and in some ways can help you figure out pacing and dialogue better than reading a paperback can.
DRAFTS
You’ve finished your first draft, now what? How many drafts should you do? Where do you go from here?
It’s an infuriatingly easy answer to “how many drafts should you do?” as the answer is: as many as it needs. You don’t want perfect to be the enemy of good preventing you from ever getting to the publishing stage, but your first draft is never going to be golden. Drafting is where the alchemy of turning a manuscript into a novel begins. I wrote 13+ drafts before The Dying Sun ever went to a professional editor.
It can also be remarkably helpful to read your book aloud to yourself. It slows down your reading and allows you to test your dialogue. If you plan on doing book readings at any point in the future, extra practice here never hurts!
BETA READERS
The job of a beta reader is not to provide you with answers or how-to’s regarding problems in your drafts. Their job is to read and give honest appraisals of the book, to show you where the holes are and where they want more. It can be scary handing off your work to someone else for the first time, and this is where many writers get hung up. But if you’re going to put a book into the hands of the public, then you need to be brave and put your draft in the hands of the betas.
The qualifications I look for in a beta reader:
No ‘Yes Men’. If the reader is going to simply tell you what you want to hear, you’re wasting both your time and theirs. You don’t need someone who is going to be needlessly cruel, but you want someone who isn’t afraid to tell you an honest, polite, opinion.
They read your genre. If you write medieval fantasy and your beta reader exclusively reads urban mysteries, the feedback they give may not be as relevant as a reader who reads medieval fantasy. They might try their best to help but they miss important feedback that someone familiar with the genre could provide.
They know how to give constructive criticism. No “This sucks”, and even “This is awesome”s aren’t necessarily helpful. If you beta reader can explain why something doesn’t work, or why something does work, for them that is extremely helpful. For example, one of my beta readers left a comment for me saying “The inquisitor’s incompetence really helps make him feel human” which is a much more useful comment than “this is good”.
Practice your own constructive criticism skills on the novels you read. Figure out why something works for you or doesn’t, and adapt that for your own work.
Understands deadlines. It’s simple, but probably one of the most important aspects of a good beta reader. While your beta reader is likely volunteering to read your book, it’s still important to have good communication between the two of you and an understanding of when you need the feedback completed.
If you are paying for beta reader feedback, make sure you have a contract outlining deadlines and expectations.
PROFESSIONAL EDITING
If you leave this blog post and only take one piece of advice, this should be it: save up the money to hire a professional. You need one. It doesn’t matter how kind your beta readers were about pointing out your grammar mistakes. It doesn’t matter how well your betas helped find and fix plot holes. You need to do this. Editing is the end stage where the true magic happens, turning your draft into a proper book. Don’t skip or skimp on this step.
HIRE A PROFESSIONAL.
I recommend starting with the Association of Independent Publishing Professionals.
ARTWORK
Aside from the editing, the other main thing that marks self or independently published books is the art. Quality art is eye-catching and appealing. Anything less is either forgettable or worse. Hire a professional for your cover art, and a professional for the graphic design/text on the cover. Slapping words on a photoshopped collage and calling it a day is not going to sell books.
I personally saved up and commissioned several pieces of artwork for The Dying Sun and the Sword & Board website. Having additional pieces, not just your cover art, can help you market your book and keep things fresh. Especially if you’re having additional designs done, such as maps. Try to keep the feel of your artwork similar. Each artist has their own style, of course, but if you have a dark fantasy novel then a bright happy cartoon map might not feel appropriate. You shouldn’t set up your audience for failure.
PUBLISHING
There are several last hurdles to overcome in the publishing process itself once you have your book formatted and ready to go. I rushed this step, which was a mistake. I ended up having to push back the sale date several times, and in turn, rushed my ARC readers. I didn’t set deadlines for reviews. You can learn from my mistakes. That said, I did do a handful of correct things too!
ADVANCED READER COPIES
Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) are books sent out ahead of the publishing date to reviewers to read. You can have your ARC readers review the books ahead of time, or push for them to all post their reviews on publishing day. The latter of the two is preferable, as a large push of traffic on your book on day 1 can help your general standing on Amazon or other sites. Have your ARC readers post their reviews wherever you can get them, but primarily have them post on Amazon and GoodReads.
Not all of these reviews are going to be positive ones. Value them anyways. Each review is going to help put your book into the hands of the correct audience.
Have a thick skin when you read your reviews. I don’t recommend reading your reviews without one. Don’t let good reviews go to your head, but don’t let bad reviews break you. I appreciate reading the reviews to see where I can grow as a writer. I don’t recommend taking each review to heart, but if there is a recurring comment in them (such as the book starts very slow) then it is worthwhile paying attention and trying to improve in the future.
launch parties and book tours
I should have organized a virtual book tour to go along with the release of The Dying Sun, but I did remember to schedule a launch party and giveaway! If you are able to do an in-person launch and book tour, fantastic. If not, virtual ones are still well worthwhile. Despite working on The Dying Sun for over a decade, there were still several people in my life and on my facebook who had no idea that I had been writing a novel. They were able to come to the virtual launch and several became interested in buying the book. It’s important to build your community, and organizing a launch party can help with that.
Book tours are hard to schedule without an agent. It is possible to hire one (using the Association for Independent Book Professionals linked above), but it is entirely possible to wear this hat yourself. Just expect to spend a decent amount of travel money here, so once more you need to save up. It’s also important to start small and start local. Support local bookstores who might be interested in your particular genre and supporting a local author. Then grow from there.
Don’t forget to look into the convention scene as well!
MISC.
Last but far from least: contracts. You need these too. There is no such thing as a good handshake agreement in business. Anyone who is willing to make a fair handshake deal should be more than happy to write that contract out on paper and sign it. When hiring someone, whether it’s an artist or an editor, you need to have a few things sorted out in your contract. In broadest terms, you and the person you hire need to know what the expectations are (payment, time, etc). If you’re commissioning artwork, there is a matter of copyright that needs to be addressed. If you aren’t fluent in contract language, it can be worthwhile consulting with a business lawyer to make sure the contract is actually useful. Most professional artists and editors will have a contract to present to you. Make sure you are comfortable with it before you sign it! Anyone who doesn’t wish to negotiate, or explain a clause in a contract in writing, is not someone you wish to do business with.
Become a Patron!